Mississippi jobless rate jumps sharply in January

JACKSON — Mississippi’s unemployment jumped to 9.3 percent in January, wiping out almost a year’s worth of job gains.

The state’s unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in December and 10 percent rate in January 2012.

The number of people who reported having a job fell even as the state’s labor force shrank. Mississippi reported 141,000 unemployed people in December, up from 123,000 in December and 135,000 in January 2012.